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The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will not accept non-Kuwaiti nationals on flights to Kuwait from 7 to 20 February 2021, with limited exemptions; in addition, it will also not accept non-Saudi nationals on flights to Saudi Arabia, until further notice.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that its flights to South Africa will now remain suspended until at least 28 February, in line with recent government directives.

The government of the UAE emirate of Dubai has changed its entry rules for foreign citizens; on arrival, tourists must present negative results of a COVID-19 PCR test, obtained a maximum of 72 hours prior to departure. Arriving passengers, as before, must also install a special mobile application on their phone to determine their location and well-being while in-destination. Foreign citizens arriving in Dubai now also need to take a second test for COVID-19 and, until the results are known, must quarantine in a hotel or apartment. If the test is positive, then the passenger will be in self-isolation for at least ten days.

Middle-eastern airlines Emirates and Etihad have announced the immediate suspension of UK flights from 13.00 (GMT) today, 29 January; the measures have been taken in response to an update from the UK government in which it added the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its 'red list' of countries. This means that people who have been in or transited through the UAE (plus Burundi and Rwanda who were also added yesterday) will be denied entry to the UK, with the exception of UK and Irish nationals, and third country nationals with residence in the UK. Emirates announced it would suspend all U.K. passenger flights from 1300 (GMT) today, when the UK measures take effect. Etihad said it would only suspend flights arriving in the UK, with those departing remaining unaffected.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that direct flights to and from the UK have been temporarily suspended as of today, 29 January, following the UK's decision to add the country to it's travel 'red list' from which non-UK and Irish nationals, or passengers of other nationalities without UK residence, are banned from entering. The suspension comes into effect from 13.00 (GMT), and passengers booked for travel on flights due to arrive in the UK after this time should not go to Dubai International Airport, but instead contact their airline for more information.

The country's government has said today that it may be set to resume regular international air travel, under a package of fresh relaxations in COVID-19 measures announced today, 28 January, which will go into effect from 1 February. India suspended all incoming and outgoing international flights, as well as domestic air travel, in the last week March 2020. International flights to and from India have since been resumed in a phased manner with about two dozen countries under bilateral 'air bubble' agreements. Meanwhile, the country has also fully resumed domestic air services.

The airline has announced a new requirement for passengers arriving into its hub airport in Dubai from 31 January from any point of origin; all passengers must hold a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate, for which a negative result must have been obtained from a test taken a maximum of 72 hours prior to departure. Nationals of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are exempt, but must still take a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival at Dubai International Airport. Passengers transiting through Dubai must also continue to ensure that they comply with the entry requirements of their respective destination country.

Middle-eastern airline Qatar Airways has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with low-cost South African carrier Mango Airlines; the move will allow greater connectivity for regional travel throughout South Africa, for passengers travelling to or from the middle east, in addition to those travelling onto destinations in Qatar's global network via its hub in Doha.

The country's government has announced that from 27 January, it will resume international passenger flights to and from Qatar, India, Vietnam and Finland - from which services were previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an official government release, the flights to Qatar will depart three times a week, and to India, Vietnam and Finland twice a week.

The Dubai-based airline has confirmed that its flights to South Africa will remain suspended until at least 4 February, in line with recent directives from the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which restrict entry to passengers originating in South Africa. Passengers travelling from third country destinations and holding tickets with a final destination in South Africa will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin by Emirates; affected passengers should contact their travel agent or Emirates contact centre for rebooking options.

The middle-eastern airline has confirmed plans to continue to grow its African flight network to over 100 weekly flights to 23 destination cities. In addition to the current network, Qatar Airways has resumed services to a number of destinations, or is due to resume them by 1 February; these destinations include Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt; Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa; Tunis, Tunisia and Casablanca, Morocco.

Dubai government-owned budget airline flydubai has announced that it is adding an additional four destinations to its European flight network, taking the total on the continent to 20. The upcoming routes, which will begin from May, are Catania and Naples in Italy, Salzburg in Austria and the island of Malta. This will take the total global destination list to 65 destinations worldwide.

The country's government has confirmed that it will extend the closure of its land borders for a further week until at least 1 February to curb the spread of COVID-19. The land borders were originally closed last week in response to concerns over new variants of the virus.

All non-residents entering Denmark must show a worthy cause for travel and proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen test) taken no more than 24 hours before boarding the aircraft. Danish nationals and residents must also present a negative COVID-19 test. Additional entry restrictions apply to residents from the UK and South Africa. Direct flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Denmark are banned from 22 to 26 January 2021. Also, COVID-19 tests taken in the UAE between these dates won't be accepted. If you're travelling to Denmark from the UAE on a continuous journey (transferring at one or more airports), you'll have to take a test in another country before boarding the final flight to Denmark.

The country's government has announced that it will suspend passenger flights in and out of Israel for one week from the evening of 25 January; the measure reportedly comes into force from 22.00 (GMT) and will last until at least the end of January. The move comes as, locally, clashes have broken out between ultra-Orthodox protesters in the city of Bnei Brak and police forces attempting to enforce current COVID-19 'lockdown' rules.

The middle-eastern airline has announced that from 1 June it will resume flights to Atlanta, which will be it's twelfth U.S. destination, with four weekly flights. Qatar Airways has also said that it will significantly increase flight frequencies, adding an additional total 13 weekly flights to its U.S. destinations, this operating a total of 83 weekly flights.

The airline has announced that all passengers flying outbound from Singapore, and inbound to Singapore from Indonesia, will soon be able to book pre-departure COVID-19 PCR and serology tests as part of a new trial service; the scheme will be operated in partnership with the medical services provider Collinson. Subject to success, the programme is expected to be expanded to include more cities in the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir network, and is the first time that the airline has offered pre-departure testing services with a global partner to its passengers.

The country's government has announced that a nationwide COVID-19 'lockdown' has been extended by at least a further ten days until 31 January, following increases in new infection rates within Israel. In addition, ministers also approved a fine of NIS 2,500 for anyone who arrives in the country without a recent, negative COVID-19 test result. Under the new policy, the test must be conducted a maximum of 72 hours prior to landing in Israel.

The middle-eastern airline has announced that it will resume flights from it's hub in Abu Dhabi to Doha in Qatar, starting from 15 February; the service will operate daily using an Airbus A320 and a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

The country's government announced today, 21 January, that it will extend a 24-hour lockdown imposed earlier this month by two weeks, to combat a continued rise in COVID-19 infections. The tight restrictions on movement across the country, which had been due to run until 25 January, will stay in place until at least 8 February.